Earl has been having a few episodes where he seems to be in a great deal of pain. The first one happened about 5 months ago and Heidi called me saying Earl seemed to be in a great deal of pain and didn't want to move. I had her take him into the vet to be checked out. They looked him over and did a bunch of range of motion tests and felt that he was having some pain in his front shoulder area but they couldn't determine the exact location. They ended up giving him some pain meds and told us to come back in if he didn't improve. After about a day of rest he was back to normal.

Yesterday Heidi called me at work and said that Earl was having another "episode".

His symptoms include:

Crying out when putting weight on his front end (going down stairs)Hunched backSitting and not wanting to moveGlassy eyes (I'm attributing these to pain)Sleeps a lot (again probably attributed to pain)Still eating and drinking water

I've noticed Earl has slowed down a bit on our runs and is sleeping a bit more than usual (he is getting older).

I'd love to figure out what is going on with him but I'm not sure what the vet can do if we can't locate the exact place that is causing him discomfort.

Anyone ever dealt with anything like this? Sound like the beginning of arthritis? Could this be back or neck pain instead of shoulder pain?

Out of all of my dogs Earl is the last dog to show any pain even if he has really injured himself so it worries me that when these episodes occur he seems to be in so much pain.

It does sort of sound like maybe some arthritis or possibly some dysplasia. Katy had similar symptoms with her hips/back when her arthritis first started. Is he holding up either front paw or seeming like he doesn't want to put weight on either front leg? Hopefully the xrays will give you some answers.....

Never make someone a priority in your life when that someone treats you like an option.

My first thought was that it sounded like Oscar's Biceps Tendonitis, but then again, that is what I have most experience with front end lameness and discomfort.

Wes said back pain, and it did get me thinking, it can be very difficult to localize pack pain, did the Vet examine Earl for that?

Whatever the cause, I am glad you are taking him in, he does not sound like a sensitive dog and to be crying out in pain he must really be hurting.

I would suggest that you rest him for longer this time, at least 3-4 days and then slow leash walks after that.

maybe see if Heidi can ask for spinal xrays as well or ask what the vet thinks of the idea (if not too cost-prohibitive) and if you think he has been drinking more then bloodwork may also be a good idea to ask about.

Let me know if you have any questions I might be able to answer.

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07

Heidi called me and said our vet was palpitating Earl's front end and she could definitely tell he is favoring his front left leg area. Earl growled at our vet which is completely out of character for a goofy Lab that loves everyone including her.

He is heading in for x-rays now. They are doing both his left and right side and his neck area as well. She spent a lot of time working his spinal area and rear end and didn't notice any painful areas along there. They are also doing a urinalysis

Well the vets do not think it is osteocarcinoma as it doesn't look like any they have ever seen before. They said that it appears Earl has an OCD (osteochondrosis) lesion on his shoulder joint area and possibly some soft tissue damage

Does anyone know anything about Osteochondritis Dissecans? Everything I read indicates it is something that develops in young dogs. Earl is almost 7 yrs old. Would something like this show up this late in life?